Samsung Chairman Fires Back in Family Dispute

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee attends his 71st birthday party with his wife Hong Ra-hee in Seoul January 9, 2012.

South Korea’s richest man isn’t going down without an almighty fight in his legal dispute with his siblings over their father’s fortune.

On Tuesday, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee said he wouldn’t give “a single dime” to his eldest brother, Lee Maeng-hee, or elder sister, Lee Sook-hee, both of whom are seeking a slice of the younger Mr. Lee’s shareholdings in Samsung companies.

“If they sue me, I will file counter-suits all the way to the end. I will not only go to the Supreme Court but also to the Constitutional Court even,” Mr. Lee told reporters.

The claimants have filed separate lawsuits seeking a total of around $800 million worth of cash and shares in Samsung Life and Samsung Electronics from their younger brother. They argue that the 71 year-old Mr. Lee took a portion of Samsung Group shares that their father Lee Byung-chull left behind and that were hidden under the names of other people.

The pair were “being a bit greedy because Samsung is so big,” Lee Kun-hee said.

The dispute primarily revolves around Samsung Life, which raised $4.4 billion in an initial public offering in 2010, South Korea’s largest ever IPO. Lee Kun-hee is the single biggest shareholder in Samsung Life with around 41.5 million shares, or 20.7% of the total.

Lee Maeng-hee is seeking around 20% of his younger brother’s stake and Lee Sook-hee around 5%.

Lee Byung-chull founded Samsung in 1938 and had eight children. He died in 1987 after tapping his third son, Lee Kun-hee, as his successor, breaking with traditional Confucian practice of handing over the reins of business to the eldest son.